source: www.youthwork-practice.com | 2000 Games, Devotions, Themes, Ideas and more for Youth Work
only for private using

Game station: milking the cow - the slightly different game for children

milking the cow: milk water from a prepared bucket with "plastic udders."
© www.youthwork-practice.com

Always the same party games? It does not have to be

Suppose you are faced with the task of hosting a children's birthday party or other celebration in which children will participate. In that case, the question inevitably arises: how to keep the kids busy? You will quickly think of such games as pot banging, blind cow, or perhaps foam kiss eating. However, some ideas are far more fun, provide entertainment, and at the same time can spur the competitive zeal of children. One of these games is called "milking the cow." Not a real one, of course, but with a few tweaks, you can at least give the kids a fun game.

We've also incorporated this game as a station on a station terrain run. It's a challenge because whoever gets a chance to practice milking? I wouldn't recommend milking a "real" cow. The poor cow...

But we have also played the game with real cows; they had to be led through a course.

A few short facts to start with

The goal is that the children - one after the other - try to milk water from a prepared bucket with "plastic udders." Here, of course, the time can be stopped, and the fastest milker wins and receives a prize. Above all, skill and speed are trained in this way. Children love challenges, animals, respectively cows, and milk so that you can make a thematic connection. Since it is sometimes difficult to perform "milking" correctly or quickly, the game is suitable for about eight years. Depending on the occasion, birthday party, or celebration, you can also take directly as a whole theme for the children's birthday, for example, "farm" or "animals." So, the "milkers" can then be dressed as a farmer or farmer's wife with rubber boots and a bandana/hat.

Craft the "cow" - done quickly

To carry out the game at all, you need a few utensils in advance. For this, first a bucket, "drinking teats," water, and a measuring cup. You can best use a rubber glove; the bucket is, of course, used as a "milking vessel," as a real farmer would do. Best you play the game outside, but inside is also possible. Be sure to place a cloth or towel under the bucket if necessary to protect the floor from water splashes. So that the little ones do not have to stand, you can also get a chair or small stool. The milking glove must then, of course, be held (preferably by an older child). And it would help if you had a stopwatch- or use the stopwatch on your phone. Alternatively, you can craft the contraption differently: You use the bucket as an udder device, so to speak. You prepare the bucket with four holes and install the udders there; for this, you can also use a glove. The children must now milk as much water as possible into the measuring cup within two minutes. Thus, there are various ways to wind up or tinker with the game.

Other games to the farm theme

In addition to the "milking" game, there are other games that you can play with the children. For example, one of them is "What am I?"- in the form of an animal pantomime game. The children gather in a circle. One starts imitating an animal; whoever guesses the animal first gets to go to the center next.

Additionally, you can make the game more challenging by not allowing the children to make any sounds. Afterwards, of course, each child receives a sweet reward. Another game is called "apple eating." In this game, you hang half as many apples as there are children present. The apples are hung on a string that hangs at about the height of the children's heads. The children now have their hands tied behind their backs and must get into teams of two and eat an apple. The team that eats the apple first wins the game.